


Guilt and grace

by Melody_Jade



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist (Anime 2003)
Genre: Gen, Triple Drabble
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-21
Updated: 2016-09-21
Packaged: 2018-08-12 12:57:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7935406
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Melody_Jade/pseuds/Melody_Jade
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ed, Al, and the changes in their bodies post-transmutation.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Guilt and grace

**Author's Note:**

  * For [JordannaMorgan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/JordannaMorgan/gifts).



> The 2003 anime still holds a very special place in my heart. I pretty much wrote this drabble set while listening to Bratja on repeat, I think it shows.

* * *

 

Everything was smaller than Al now. He now barely fit in chairs that he once had to hop up on. No bed was large enough for him. He towered over everyone, and strangers shied away from him, intimidated by his size.

He no longer needed to eat, nor did he need to sleep. He could not breathe in the scent of fresh flowers, nor feel the warm comfort of a hug.

Ed watched his brother bear the consequences of Ed’s arrogance, and knew that he could never forgive himself until he gave Al back all the little comforts of flesh.

* * *

His brother looked small and diminished after their failed transmutation, sitting listlessly in the wheelchair without an arm and leg. He listened to his brother’s screaming as the Rockbells equipped him with automail, and sat with him through the drug induced delirium. He watched mutely as his brother learned how to walk again on his own, rejecting help from everyone else.

Ed bounced back, as he always did, growing stronger and more determined with each day. No longer diminished. But Al would never allow himself to forget those early days, and that his brother lost an arm because of him. 

* * *

Al learned how to compensate for his bulk when making quick movements, and to watch out for ceiling fixtures before he knocked into them. Ed grew accustomed to the automail, he no longer tripped over his own feet, or break things because he was not used to the strength of his new arm.

Every day, they practiced sparring with each other, learning with each other the strengths and weaknesses of their new bodies, even finding joy in it as they discovered new things they could do now.

Little by little, they grew into their new bodies, and found grace together.

* * *

 


End file.
